


Puppy Love

by cindergal



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Animals, M/M, Schmoop, lure bingo, puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 16:58:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19430218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cindergal/pseuds/cindergal
Summary: It all started with a mangy mutt.





	Puppy Love

**Author's Note:**

> Importing some of my older fic from LJ. Originally posted there 3/7/12.

“He’s just a mutt. He’s not even purebred." Reid wrinkled his nose. "And I think he has mange.”

His comment had the desired effect; classic Luke Snyder bitch face. “Mixed breeds make the best pets. And he does not have mange! He has a beautiful coat!” Luke shook his head. “Come on, Reid. Isn’t he cute? How can you resist this face?” He held the furball up so Reid could get a better look. The dog yipped in agreement and licked Luke’s chin.

Reid sighed heavily. Luke was right. He couldn’t resist that face. But it wasn’t the dog he was looking at. Although, the two pairs of big, brown eyes currently staring at him beseechingly _were_ eerily similar.

“What’s his name?” Reid finally asked, and Luke pumped his fist in triumph.

“Yes! I knew it!” The dog barked again and wiggled excitedly in Luke’s arms, wagging his tail. “I knew he’d love you, Scooter.”

“Love is a very strong word,” Reid said. “Besides, you already brought him home, what was I going to do? He doesn’t come with a money back guarantee, does he?”

Luke set Scooter on the floor and stroked his head. “He does, actually. He’s just a foster pet right now. But if we want to adopt him, we can.”

“Like you’d ever give him back,” Reid huffed. Luke grinned and leaned in to kiss him.

“Thank you. I didn’t mean to get a dog. Really. I just took Natalie to do her volunteer work, and the next thing I knew…”

Reid shook his head. “You are such an easy mark. They told you some sob story about him, didn’t they?”

Luke shrugged. “He was abandoned. Nobody wanted him. It made me sad.”

“Like I said, easy mark.” The dog _was_ cute, though. “C’mere, fleabag,” Reid said, patting the sofa next to him. Scooter looked to be some sort of terrier mix, not too big, not too small, with a friendly face. He hopped up next to Reid and lay down, resting his head on Reid’s knee and thumping his stubby tail when Reid scratched behind his ears. This having-a-dog-thing might not be so bad after all.

“He likes you,” Luke said, leaning in to Reid’s side. “And you obviously like him. I’m kind of shocked you agreed to keep him so easily.”

Luke shouldn’t be that surprised, as Reid couldn’t really refuse him anything, although it was true he usually put up a bigger fight even if it was all for show. Arguing with Luke was still one of his favorite pastimes.

“Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve always wanted a dog and never got to have one, so…”

Luke frowned. “You never had a dog growing up?”

“Nope. No dog, no cat, no goldfish. The closest thing I ever had to a pet were the lab rats in medical school, and it was best not to get too attached to them.”

Luke grimaced. “Yeah, I guess not.”

Scooter whined in sympathy.

“Besides,” Reid said, “I suppose it’s good practice.”

“Practice?”

“Although I’m sure pet adoption isn’t nearly as complicated.”

Luke’s eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline. “A…adoption?”

“Yeah. What do you think?” Reid wasn’t getting any younger. If they were going to do this thing, he wanted to do it before everyone assumed he was the kid’s granddad or something.

“Uh, I think I’m shocked. We’ve never even talked about kids before. You are talking about kids, right?”

“No, I was talking about parakeets. Of course I’m talking about kids. And there’s a first time for everything.”

Luke stared at him.

“Okay, well I guess we’ll talk about it another time...”

“No! I mean, we can talk about it now. I mean, kids, for sure. I’ve always wanted kids. I’m…I’m glad you do, too.”

“I do, now,” Reid said. The thought had never even crossed his mind pre-Luke Snyder. In fact, his life with Luke had become a series of firsts, and it had been pretty terrifying in the beginning. He hadn’t been at all sure he’d be any good at this relationship thing, but Reid had always felt anything worth doing was worth excelling at. And with Luke next to him, he’d learned he could pretty much handle anything.

“But honestly, I never really thought about adoption,” Luke said.

Scooter whined, and Reid realized he had stopped petting him while he was waiting for Luke’s answer. He may have stopped breathing, too. He patted Scooter in apology and resumed stroking his soft fur.

“Well, I get that. You want your own flesh and blood.” He reached up with the hand that wasn’t petting the dog and pushed a lock of hair off Luke’s forehead. “And who wouldn’t want more of you running around? I know I would.”

Luke smiled and leaned into his touch. “And what about you?”

“Well, to deprive the world of my genius DNA would be a grave disservice to society, I guess…”

Luke laughed. “It would!” His gaze softened and he took Reid’s hand in his own. “So why’d you bring up adoption?”

Reid shrugged. “No reason.”

Luke gave him a look. “Of course there’s a reason. So tell me. Please?”

Reid took a breath. “It’s just…there are a lot of kids who don’t have parents for whatever reason. Like…like me.” He looked down at Scooter, who was looking back at him with what Reid could swear was sympathy in his eyes. “When my parents died, Angus took me in, and look, I’m grateful I had a roof over my head. I mean, it could have been a lot worse. It’s not like he beat me or anything, but he wasn’t the best choice for a parent. And…I think we would be a pretty good choice.”

When he looked up, Luke’s eyes were shining. He squeezed Reid’s hand. “I think we would, too.”

“But, you know, it was just a thought.”

“We could do both.”

“What?”

“We could have our own kids. _And_ we could adopt!”

Reid’s eyes narrowed. “Just how many kids are you talking about?”

Luke grinned. “Not that many.”

Reid groaned and looked back at Scooter. “What have I gotten myself in to, fleabag?” Scooter jumped into his lap and licked Reid’s face. “All right, all right, that’s enough of that. Dog germs.”

Luke sighed happily and rested his head on Reid’s shoulder. “And to think it all started with a mangy mutt.”

“Don’t talk about my dog like that, Mr. Snyder.”


End file.
